Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Acquires Shares of 3,953 Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 3,953 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $968,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 111.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 645.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 96.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essex Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ESS traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $269.43. 33,543 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 377,646. Essex Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $203.85 and a 52 week high of $284.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 3.19 and a current ratio of 3.19. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $264.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $248.30. The company has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.86.

Essex Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $2.45 dividend. This represents a $9.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Essex Property Trust’s payout ratio is 119.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ESS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $239.50 to $243.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $232.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $275.00 in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Essex Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $258.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,519.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Essex Property Trust news, Director Keith R. Guericke sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.57, for a total value of $2,745,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,118 shares in the company, valued at $4,425,519.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Angela L. Kleiman sold 3,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.27, for a total transaction of $1,051,860.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,641,895.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

Essex Property Trust, Inc, an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.